Harris v. State
298 Ga. 588
Ga.2016Background
- On June 16, 2008 two men (Commie Spead and Jerry Lewis Williams) were found shot once in the head inside a Cadillac Escalade on Vacuna Road; position and blood spatter indicated shots fired from the right rear passenger seat.
- Witnesses saw a black pickup with a large UGA “G” decal and starburst mag wheels near the Escalade around the time of the killings; Harris drove a matching truck.
- One of Harris’s fingerprints was on the exterior of the Escalade’s right rear passenger door. Two .40 caliber shell casings were recovered from the Escalade.
- A .40 Glock later recovered in Florida was stipulated by Harris to be his; ballistic testing matched the shell casings from the Escalade to that gun.
- After officers made a protective sweep of Harris’s apartment they obtained a warrant to search and seized a Glock box and three boxes of .40 Hornaday ammunition; Harris’s clothing bore blood matching Spead’s DNA.
- Harris was convicted of malice murder (two counts) and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony; sentenced to life without parole (concurrent) plus five years consecutive. Court of Appeals/Georgia Supreme Court proceedings followed and the convictions were affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (Harris) | Defendant's Argument (State) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motion to suppress pistol box & ammunition seized during execution of warrant | Entry and search exceeded permission; Holly (roommate) lacked authority to permit search of Harris’s bedroom; items outside warrant scope | Officers lawfully conducted protective sweep, items were in plain view during execution of a valid warrant to search for drugs | Denied: protective sweep and plain-view seizure upheld; trial court’s findings not clearly erroneous |
| Chain of custody for clothing with victim's DNA | Discrepancy between booking photo (white T-shirt) and evidence bag (tank-top) undermines chain and possibility of tampering | Explained booking/jail clothing practice and transfer of garments; State established reasonable assurance of identity and no tampering | Denied: State met chain-of-custody burden; evidence admitted |
| Ineffective assistance for failure to request ‘mere presence’ jury instruction | Trial counsel deficient for not requesting instruction | Jury instructions already required State to prove each element beyond reasonable doubt; mere-presence instruction is corollary and unnecessary | Denied: no prejudice; failure to request instruction did not render counsel ineffective |
| Sufficiency of the evidence to support convictions | Circumstantial evidence insufficient to prove Harris was shooter beyond reasonable doubt | Fingerprint in proximity to shooting, ballistics linking Harris’s gun to casings, victim’s DNA on Harris's clothing, vehicle witness identifications — adequate circumstantial case | Affirmed: evidence (direct and circumstantial) was sufficient for jury to find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt |
Key Cases Cited
- Scandrett v. State, 293 Ga. 602 (2013) (standard of review for suppression rulings)
- Tidwell v. State, 285 Ga. 103 (2009) (common authority and consent principles)
- Celestin v. State, 296 Ga. App. 727 (2009) (protective sweep authority)
- Smithson v. State, 275 Ga. App. 591 (2005) (scope of search warrant/plain-view doctrine)
- Walker v. State, 294 Ga. 851 (2014) (chain of custody rule and requirements)
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (ineffective assistance standard)
- Simmons v. State, 282 Ga. 183 (2007) (mere-presence instruction treated as corollary to elements requirement)
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (standard for sufficiency of the evidence)